Aussie man fighting for life in Bali after mysteriously collapsing
The 26-year-old was found unconscious outside his hotel in Kuta, but doctors still don't know what caused him to collapse.
A Perth man is fighting for his life in a Balinese hospital after mysteriously collapsing outside his Kuta hotel.
Artemiy Stakhanov, known as Toma, was holidaying on the island with a friend before continuing his travels solo, but days before he was due to fly home he suddenly fell unconscious.
A local man who Toma had befriended found the 26-year-old lying on the ground and "struggling to breathe," Milane, a friend of Toma's told Yahoo News Australia. When he arrived at the hospital on Thursday, Toma was put into an induced coma, but doctors are still unsure what caused his sudden slip into unconsciousness.
"In the beginning, he had liquid in his lungs, [thought to be] pneumonia, but he's also got diabetes," Milane explained. "Later on, [doctors] found he had blood in his stomach, but they just don't know what's going on at the moment. They keep finding new things. They just don't know".
'He did not look ok'
After hearing of the incident, the 26-year-old's mother and best friend Leilani Reid flew to Bali to be by his side. When she first saw him, Leilani said "he did not look ok" so they grew extremely concerned about his condition.
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"After conducting more tests, doctors found low glucose levels (likely due to his diabetes) and he had acute respiratory distress, high potassium levels, and dark fluid coming from his nasal gastric tube," she explained. He was also given a blood transfusion.
Suspected alcohol poisoning
While the cause is still unknown doctors in Bali are "leaning towards the concept it could have been alcohol poisoning" or a "reaction" to alcohol, Leilani explained. But all they can do now is monitor his condition. The circumstances leading up to the medical emergency are still unknown also, at least until Toma wakes up.
While rare, tourists to Bali have been warned about the harmful effects of methanol poisoning — a result of consuming fake or tainted alcoholic spirits.
Thankfully, Toma's vitals are returning to normal but he still has a long road to recovery. Balinese doctors are starting to wean him off machines, allowing him to wake up from his coma.
Costly $170k journey home
The Perth man's family are desperate to get him home to Australia, but a medical flight from Kuta to Perth will cost them upwards of $170,000 — money they're hoping to fundraise via a GoFundMe campaign.
"It's crazy expensive. And his hospital bills are nearly at 40k already, so it's a lot of money," said Milane, explaining Toma did not have travel insurance. "It's really hard on his mum and the bills are piling up".
"The sooner she can get him home the better," Leilani said of Toma's mum.
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